2022 Taste of Faith is in person and online

Published: August 5, 2022

En Español

"With great joy, then, let’s celebrate our common work!" — Father Jeff Hebert, vocations director

This year you can attend Taste of Faith in person or watch it online. This annual event to raise money for seminarian education will be held Saturday, Aug. 6 at 6:30 p.m. at the Statehouse House Convention Center in Little Rock. Watch it live on the Diocese of Little Rock Facebook page and YouTube channel beginning at 7 p.m. Subscribe to YouTube or follow us on Facebook to receive notifications when new content is posted.

The event will include the premiere of: "Forming Priests Together: What Kind of Priests Do You Want?" a video featuring parishioners from across the diocese. Participants will also hear interviews and testimonials from seminarians, particularly Deacons John Paul Hartnedy and Nathan Ashburn, who are expected to be ordained in 2023. While those attending in person have dinner with a seminarian, livestream participants will be treated to a video from diocesan priests addressing how they have stepped up in challenging times.

The new video everyone will see during Taste of Faith coincides with two major events in the life of the Church. First, the worldwide Synod on Synodality, a two-year process that seeks feedback from the faithful, particularly those who feel left out of the Church, and the nationwide Eucharistic Revival, a three-year celebration to increase devotion and belief in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.

Father Jeff Hebert, vocations director, touched on his desire for feedback in forming seminarians for priesthood in a letter he mailed to Catholic households in July.

"Forming men into faithful and joyful priests absolutely requires the collaboration of the whole Church. After all, priests seek to administer the saving grace of Christ to your needs and to your life," he wrote. "We need to work with you, listen to you, and live with you if we want your future priests to be attentive to the ebb and flow of your life experiences.

"Truly then, we are all forming our priests, together. Maybe you taught religion to a seminarian or priest way back when he was younger. Perhaps you have opened your home and provided dinner for our seminarians. Maybe you have shown them a thing or two about teaching children," Father Hebert continued. "Maybe you have helped them to learn a new language, or even just shared with them what it is like to be Catholic. Perhaps you have graciously provided financial support to a seminarian or the entire vocations program. With great joy, then, let’s celebrate our common work!"

The letter went on to thank parishioners for their generosity in supporting the needs of seminarians in the past with an appeal to donate again this year. 

"Truly, your generosity has been incredible! Over the years, Catholics in Arkansas have generously provided hundreds of thousands of dollars at Taste of Faith events. Your money has been used exclusively for immediate seminarian education expenses. Without your participation, it would be impossible for us to prepare these men for the priesthood," he added.

"Thank you for prayerfully considering a donation toward seminarian formation. I ask you to pray for our seminarians and for an increase in vocations. If God works so generously with humanity to provide shepherds for his flock, then may all of us generously work with each other to form these men well," he concluded.

Donate online or mail in their donation to: Taste of Faith, Diocese of Little Rock, P. O. Box 7565, Little Rock, AR 72217. For more information, email Dianne Brady, director of stewardship and development, or call her (501) 664-0340, ext. 391.